


Maybe Next Year

by Killtheselights



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Life Day (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey loves succulents, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21977470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killtheselights/pseuds/Killtheselights
Summary: The Force Bond connects Kylo and Rey on a very special occasion; or, Rey's first Life Day gives Kylo pause to reflect on holidays past.Post-TLJ, Pre-TRoS, no spoilers for the film.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92





	Maybe Next Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheLadyoftheHouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyoftheHouse/gifts).



Rey had stopped resisting the Force Bond. Now, she was just angry at him.

Some days she would start with yelling. Other times they would talk, trading insults until their voices raised and they were blue in the face.

But he always felt there was something else there. Perhaps…

He thought of the way she had looked at him in the turbolift as he took her, reluctantly, to Snoke. There had been something there, too.

She was masking her hurt in anger. He wasn't much better; he never started their fights, but he was not about to disengage from them, either.

But every fight was time with her. So maybe that’s why he was so eager to keep her attention.

This time, Kylo was meditating when the silence broke, tidal waves crashing against the tranquil shore of his mind. He braced himself for another fight, but where there had once been the mechanical silence of his chambers, there was now giggling and a distinctly sugary-sweet smell he couldn't quite name.

He opened one eye, trying with considerable difficulty to affect irritation rather than desperation.

Somehow the Force had oriented their bond so Rey had flopped on his bed, her hair loose around her shoulders, her feet bare as they dangled above the durasteel floor.

Rey rolled over, a wide grin on her face. When she spotted him, she popped up onto her elbows. 

"Ben!" she said. "Happy Life Day!"

He blinked at her. "What?"

"Life Day!" She rolled her eyes at his aloofness. "How do you not know what that is?"

That was not why his answer had been so ineloquent. He knew exactly what it _was_ ; he was, however, stunned by her sudden friendliness and familiarity.

"I know what it is," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What, don't celebrate it?" she asked, getting up and padding over to him. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him disapprovingly. "Not allowing the First Order to have any fun?"

"I don't celebrate holidays," he muttered glancing up at her.

That smell. It was fruity and heavy and he remembered it well; candy, of some sort. He remembered begging his mother for another sweet from Uncle Chewie; she relented. " _One more, Ben, then you're done."_

But it was never just one. He spent many Life Days in a state of sugary bliss, playing and chasing the Wookiee children around the village until his parents snatched him up, washing and dressing him for the night before tucking him into their bed while they continued to socialize with the other adults in the next room. He’d fall asleep clutching his Tooka, drifting off to the sounds of lively, happy voices. 

He blinked up at Rey. Her eyebrows were raised.

"Of course not," she deadpans, rolling her eyes again. "It's fun, therefore it is simply _dreadful_."

She turned her back to him and started wandering back to the bed.

"Rose made me a bracelet; Poe brewed us some berry ale. Finn sang an old war ballad from the Clone Wars. But you’re right; what could possibly be so great about delicious food and sweets and companionship and presents?"

He huffed. "It's for children, Rey."

"It is not just for children!" she said indignantly. "It's for everyone to celebrate life! Togetherness. Friendship. I'm sure those things mean nothing to you of course."

Her words were mocking, but her intent was kinder. _You knew them. You can have them again._

Kylo let himself remember the excitement of Life Day, traveling, cooking, presents, playing. But more than that: a guarantee that he would have time, even just a few days with his parents. He would have love.

But after a while, one of them would be gone, and the other would be too afraid to take Ben out. He was too much of a hazard, a risk, so they left their monster son at home where he couldn't hurt anyone. There were no more sweets, no more games. Just solitude, until Uncle Luke took him away to become a Jedi. Life Day became a thing of the past, a painful reminder of who his parents were and what his anger and darkness cost him.

Whether or not she sensed this, Rey glanced over her shoulder. "I guess you don't want your present then?"

He felt himself shrink. "My what?"

“I got you something,” she said. “Yes, even you, Ben Solo, get a Life Day present.” She turned her back to him, reaching for something he couldn't see. He rose and crossed the room to face her.

"Don't peek!" she snapped when he got close, but after a moment she cupped her hands and turned back to him.

"Ready? Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

He lowered himself onto the bed, surprised that he could feel her weight on the mattress beside him. He closed his eyes, and there was a little buzz of the Force against his palms.

"Now open."

He noticed first the way she had placed her hands in his so he cradled them. But then he noticed what she held.

He glanced up at her.

"A plant," he said softly, understanding.

Rey was from the desert. She was giving him the most important, vital thing to her, something she couldn't have.

"Is it still alive?" he asked. It was a small bulb, a faint color. It felt brittle, dry. Dead.

"It's not just any plant," she said with a laugh. "This one is special. It looks dead now because...it's resting. It's an air plant. It curled up on itself because it was in the dark for too long.” 

She met his gaze. “It will bloom when you give it soil, light, water, and a little care."

She smiled to herself. "It will flourish then. It will be beautiful. Sound like anyone we know?"

Despite himself, he had to fight back a small smile.

"But you can't have it yet," Rey added, drawing her hands back to herself, curling them protectively over the bulb.

"Why not?" 

She tilted her head as she continued to smile enigmatically at him.

"I want to give it to you in person."

Ben's heart, cold as it was, felt as if it dropped, but Rey still stared at him with a breathtaking certainty. Certainty, and something else.

“And when might I be able to do that?”

“Whenever you want, Ben,” she said softly. “You know you can always come back with me. Come to the light anytime.”

Her words were as sweet as the syrupy, honeyed smell engulfing her. Yes, he wanted that. He wanted, he wanted--

“That’s impossible, Rey. You know that.”

Her smile fell slightly, but she bobbed her shoulders in a little shrug. “This should be impossible, you and me, here, together, but it’s not. Have a little faith, won’t you?”

She shifted the air plant to her lap. “This will be waiting for you whenever you want it.”

Rey turned back to him. “Now, where’s my present?”

Ben, surprised, coughed nervously. “I...I didn’t get anything for you.”

She leaned in close to him. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Kylo didn't think of anything at all. He saw the flash of mischief and eagerness in Rey's eyes, and he pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was brief, awkward, but fiery, a little burst of the Force sparking as their lips met. He could taste the sweetness of her lips, warm and sugary and better than he dreamed she might be.

The touch showed him something, a sensation; Rey had wanted his kiss. Not just tonight, with berry ale and sugary sweets running through her veins, but tonight, and every night since they have first touched hands, and every night to come.

“Rey…” he began, but she sat up and silenced him with another kiss. And he did not resist another. And another.

And then there was a knock at his door. He jerked his head toward it, breaking the spell of Rey’s honeyed lips against his.

“ _Supreme Leader,_ ” a muffled voice called through the wall. 

Kylo turned back to Rey. She was now flushed a bit, her lips swollen with kissing, but now bearing a sad little smile.

“Duty calls,” she said quietly. “I won’t keep you.”

“Rey, wait --”

“Maybe next year,” Rey said quietly. 

Ben reached for her, but she seemed fainter. The connection was ending.

“Rey,” he begged.

“Maybe next year we can celebrate together. In person.” She smiled at him again. "Up to you, Ben."

When she vanished, the bed felt lighter and the sweetness that had permeated the room seemed to disappear with her. Kylo stared at where Rey had sat, dreaming of a night spent in laughter, consuming sweets and ale and more kisses than he had ever known before in his life before collapsing into bed beside Rey, tired and full and happier than he had ever been.

The knock returned, firmer than before, chasing the daydream away. He looked around at the sterile chambers, all cold metal and austere lines.

All it would cost him was... this.

Kylo sighed and rose, moving towards the door.

Maybe next year. Maybe one day.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The last holiday fic I did was naughty, so let's make something nice.
> 
> Or, I was hungover and missed Christmas. Happy boxing day, have a fluff.


End file.
